Radical Indonesian cleric arrested for terrorism

Jakarta: Radical Indonesian cleric Abu
Bakar Bashir, once imprisoned for his links to the terror
group behind the Bali bombings, was arrested on Monday for alleged
involvement with a new militant network.

His lawyer, Muhammad Ali, said the arrest took place
on Monday morning in West Java`s Ciamis district.

Bashir is best known as the founder and spiritual
leader of Jemaah Islamiyah, the al Qaeda-linked terrorist
group responsible for the 2002 bombings on Indonesia`s resort
island of Bali that killed 202 people, many of them foreign
tourists.

He spent several years in prison for his involvement
with the group, but was released in 2006.

He was arrested today for alleged involvement with a
new terror cell in Indonesia`s westernmost province of Aceh,
the lawyer said.

Authorities discovered the new group in February and
said it was allegedly planning to assassinate the president
and carry out Mumbai-style attacks targeting foreigners.
Dozens of suspects linked to that cell, which called
itself al Qaeda in Aceh, have been arrested or killed in
recent months. Rumors have circulated for weeks that Bashir, a
fiery preacher known for propagating hatred against
foreigners, was next on the list.